TUF 13 Finale winner Ed Herman now enjoying life after reality series

It launched his UFC career and brought him notoriety on MMA’s biggest stage. But even 10 seasons later, it solidified him as a villain in many fans’ eyes.

But Herman, who recently returned from a near-two-year layoff to pick up a win at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale, seems to have made peace with his time on the Spike TV reality series.

“That was cool to be here on the finale with the guys coming off season 13,” said Herman (20-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC), who used an uppercut to score a 48-second of Tim Credeur (12-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at Saturday’s event, which took place in Las Vegas. “Ten seasons after mine, that’s kind of crazy. I don’t even know if any of those guys remember me. But it meant a lot, and I got the opportunity to be on the main card.

“If it was a big pay-per-view, I may not have had that opportunity, so to get out there and let the people know that I’m still fighting? When you’re not on TV, people tend to forget you, so it was good to have that opportunity.”

In a previous fighting life, Herman was a no-frills, no-nonsense veteran who seemingly fought with a chip on his shoulder. He wasn’t unlikable – but he didn’t necessarily embrace his celebrity or public image.

And for a while, that was probably a good thing – especially when any negative personality traits are magnified by the “TUF” cameras. (His run-ins with coach Ken Shamrock and castmate Rory Singer didn’t help matters.)

Even five years later, his three-month run on the reality series isn’t forgotten.

“I remember I sent out a Tweet saying, ‘Hey, get me some followers,'” he said. “There were some guys saying, ‘If you weren’t such a jerk on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 3′ 10 years ago, maybe I would.’ People hold that stuff against you. On that show, there’s a lot of emotions going, and sometimes you can make some mistakes and make yourself look bad, when you’re not a bad dude. I know we’re all good dudes, and being on that show brings out the worst and best in you.”

After the show, Herman launched an up-and-down UFC career. A middle-of-the-pack middleweight, he had some bright moments, and he put up some gutsy performances against current division contenders such as Demian Maia and Alan Belcher.

But after shredding his knee – and still trying to fight through it – in a UFC 102 injury loss to Aaron Simpson, Herman was sent to the sidelines. He had torn his ACL and damaged his meniscus during the August 2009 fight, and he re-injured the knee when he began training again in early 2010.

He’s now just thankful to be competing again.

“I’m just so excited to be back and prove that I belong in here still,” he said. “With all the questions and the life-changing injury – a possible career-ending injury – I’m just really excited to be back. I think it can throw me back right in the mix in the middleweight division. I’m ready to make a run.”

But one fight unlikely to happen soon – and one he’d like to avenge – is against Kendall Grove, who bested Herman for the “TUF 3” title back in 2006. Grove suffered a lopsided decision loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130 and is now 1-3 over his past four fights. His days in the UFC could be numbered.

But he’s holding out hope for an eventual rematch.

“I was a little bummed,” Herman said. “I was hoping he’d go on a little run, too, so we could have a big rematch and get some hype behind it. I was bummed to see him lose.”